The brand new da Vinci surgical assisting robot can make intricate little folds to create an origami bird the size of a dime.

But more importantly for people with prostate cancer, that kind of dexterity and precision should translate into better outcomes, medical staff said Wednesday during a media event to showcase Windsor’s newest piece of medical technology.

“I think it just gives a lot of people hope, because they can become cancer-free, return to normal activities quicker,” said Stacey Dusik, the hospital’s clinical practice manager who was recently hired from Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital — where she had experience with more than 4,000 da Vinci procedures — so she could start up the da Vinci program at Windsor Regional Hospital.

Dusik, a Belle River resident, said she was excited for the community when she heard the $2.8-million robot was coming to Windsor, the fruits of a $4-million It’s In Your Jeans fundraising project that actually raised $5.4 million for the robot and other prostate cancer equipment.

“Faster recovery time, less blood loss, better movements from the surgeons so it can be more precise,” Dusik said of the benefits. “So better continence and erectile function. And that means a lot to prostate patients.”

The robot arrived in early July and the first surgery will happen in the fall. The program will start at 100 surgeries the first year and then will expand to 150 annually, said Dr. Ron Sorensen, the chief or urology at Windsor Regional’s Met campus. The procedure — called a robot–assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy — involves the use of robotic arms that enter the belly through small punctures to remove the cancerous prostate and then put things back together.

Up to now, a radical prostatectomy was done in Windsor with open surgery or laparoscopic surgery, which involves making small incisions in the belly and using special instruments to remove the prostate. Using a robot to assist you in surgery is the next big step, according to Sorensen.

“It just makes things a lot easier,” he said. “When you’re doing pelvic laparoscopic surgery, physically it’s very difficult to be working at arms length across the table. Whereas this way, you’re taking advantage of the robot, allowing it to be an extension of your hands.”

The surgeon actually sits a short distance away from the operating table and stares into console that shows images from a high definition 3D camera that’s inserted into a small near the patient’s naval. He uses hand controls to manipulate four interactive robotic arms that enter the patient’s belly with small punctures that range between five and eight millimetres. The arms have tools that can cut, snip, pull, suture and perform other surgical functions with a dexterity that’s superior to the human wrist.

A well-tuned team can do the procedure in about an hour and 40 minutes, said Sorensen, who has brought patients to Hamilton for the procedure. The wait in London is nine months, he said. So having the robot here means people won’t suffer long waits and won’t have to go out of town.

He said the robot is speedier.

“But it’s not all about speed. It’s about accuracy, and being able to reduce the hospital time, the availability of pulling out catheters (left in the patient’s bladder temporarily to drain urine) sooner, having faster regaining of urinary control, being able to save nerves so you can preserve potency,” Sorensen said.

He said in most cases, patients lose only about 100 cc (one-tenth of a litre) of blood and they’ll get out of hospital in a day, compared to two to four days for open surgery.

The surgical team that will be doing this procedure are in the process of being trained, said Dusik, whose job involves getting all the nurses trained, setting up the room, and getting necessary equipment and instruments.

“There’s online training we have to go through, there’s on-site training we have to go through here in the OR room,” she said. “We’ve been to London to observe, the surgeons have to go to London to train, so we can all work together. Everyone has to be just really well-trained.”

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